What is PIAM all about?

Physical Identity and Access Management, otherwise referred to as PIAM, are technology solutions designed to streamline and optimize policies and processes relating to the management of physical access within an organization.

Imagine the scenario in a workplace where there is constant activity on the HR front: people joining the organization, leaving the organization, changing roles in the organization… this is often referred to as Joiners/Movers/Leavers.

Imagine also having to deal with contractors - people who have a need for physical access but who aren’t managed within the organization’s human resources system.

Imagine also having to manage the physical access of service personnel, who might come into the organization to undertake maintenance activities.

A properly implemented PIAM solution will take care of the processes to ensure that authorized people have the access they need to do their job. Ideally, the PIAM solution will leverage data that is already in the organization to properly manage the administrative burden of keeping everything up to date - think HR System; Contractor Management System; Works Order System; Medical System. The list goes on.

Implementing a PIAM solution allows for the administrative burden of requesting access, approving access, administering access and removing access to be automated or, at the very least, devolved to the parts of the organization that should be, and need to be, involved.